TROJANS ARE ‘GOING TO INDIANAPOLIS’
Grayson’s masterful 4th quarter sends Chesterton to state championship game
LAFAYETTE — Chesterton’s Travis Grayson blocked out the noise. He remained focused.
“Just calm,” he said. “Calm, cool and collected.”
The senior point guard hit two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to cap his 11-point fourth quarter — and the Trojans’ comeback — in a 42-40 win against Kokomo in the Class 4A Lafayette Jefferson Semistate on Saturday.
Grayson finished with 27 points, hitting 15 of 16 from the line, and four steals as Chesterton (29-0) added its first semistate title to its first regional title. The Trojans, ranked No. 1 in the all-classes coaches poll and the 4A poll by Associated Press, will play No. 6/No. 8 Indianapolis Cathedral (25-6) in the state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse at 7:15 p.m. March 26.
“He’s taken his undefeated team to the state championship and continues to make plays,” Chesterton coach Marc Urban said. “He steps up and makes big free throws, week after week. Love the kid. Proud of him.”
Grayson was confident at the line.
“It’s just the work I put in,” he said. “We work on free throws all the time. It was just routine. I stepped up and knocked them down. I was just thinking about going to Indianapolis. I’m so hype and so ready to go to Indianapolis.”
Chesterton pulled out another close game, scoring the final eight points over the last 4:37 to upend Kokomo (19-8). After Grayson’s go-ahead free throws, Kokomo missed two at the line, the second intentionally, with 1.7 seconds left. Kokomo got possession when the ball went out of bounds with 0.4 seconds left and missed a 3-pointer as time expired.
“I can’t speak highly enough of this group,” Urban said. “I feel like I’m repeating myself. But they made plays when they needed to. They stuck with it. They’re tough, they’re gritty and they’re giving us a chance to play in Indianapolis. That gives me chills, man.
“I’m glad I get to coach these guys seven more days. The max amount of time I can coach them is seven more days, and I get to do that. And I’m jacked about that.”
Chesterton is the first Region team to reach the 4A state final since Lake Central in 2014. Andrean won the 2A title in 2019.
“We just keep fighting,” senior forward Chris Mullen said. “You can never count us out. It’s a dream come true.
“But at the same time, we know we’re supposed to be here. We put in the work over a year ago. We started that day, and we haven’t slowed down since. We put in the hard work and dedication. We have the best team. We stayed together. … We earned it.”
Mullen, who scored five points, drew the primary assignment of defending against 6-foot-10 sophomore Flory Bidunga. As the Trojans ran several players at him, Bidunga — described by Grayson as a “paint beast” — had 11 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots in limited minutes because of foul trouble.
“He’s really good,” Mullen said. “He’s going to be a good player in the future. We had Nick Furmanek come into the game, and he drew some fouls on him. That was huge.”
Chesterton trailed 40-34 with 4:42 left before embarking on its comeback, with Grayson going 6 of 6 from the line and
Owen Guest making a pair to account for the eight points.
Mullen came up with a steal to set up Grayson’s two free throws that tied it at 40-40.
The Trojans held the ball beginning around the 1:40 mark before Grayson finally put them over the top in the waning seconds.
“It’s just a surreal feeling
going down to state,” Grayson said. “I’ve been dreaming about this for so long. I’ve been going to state championship games my whole life, since I was 6, going to Thea Bowman’s state championship games when they were down there. It’s just something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life. For it to happen, I’m just really excited.”